From 1988 to 1991, Vardan Hovhannisyan was a freelance cameraman and covered the hot regions and ethnic conflicts related to the post-Soviet transition for the international news. He was twice captured as a prisoner of war during the Nagorno-Karabakh war. In 1993 he established Bars Media Documentary Film Studio, one of the first independent film companies in Armenia, which specializes in making documentaries about human stories, culture, history and other social issues. He has also been the executive producer of documentaries for organizations such as the United Nations, USAID, OSCE, the British Council and OXFAM.

Vardan is also developing documentary films in Africa, Russia, Afghanistan, and at the North and South Poles. He is currently planning to start the production of his next film Hot Archeology in Afghanistan. Vardan is a certified sports-plane pilot and first-class parachutist, experienced in aerial film shooting. He is a member of the EDN and the IDA.